1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a method for gaining remaining meat from the bones of cutlet strings or racks of slaughtered warm-blooded animals, in particular of pigs, and a separating apparatus for carrying out the method comprising a rotatably driven hollow drum, open on one side and having a perforated outer surface, an endless elastic compression belt, the outer surface of said compression belt being wrapped around a portion of the circumference of the hollow drum and guided to form a pull-in wedge for the material to be compressed and a compression zone under the effect of compression means, as well as a clearing device in the interior of the hollow drum and a scraping device associated with the outer surface of said hollow drum.
2. Prior Art
The said cutlet strings or racks are obtained during the initial division or carving up of in particular pigs, and include a connected bone string of about 20 dorsal vertebrae of the vertebral column, which has been split in the plane of symmetry of the animal in an earlier process by means of a saw and from which the ribs and the vertebral appendages have been removed leaving only short stumps on respective vertebrae. The cutlet strings or racks also include a meat or flesh string, which, when connected to the bone string, is traded as smoked loin of pork (Kassler) and when boned, serves as the starting product for a variety of special products like sliced smoked ham. The boning of these cutlet strings or racks or the cutting free of meat from the bone string is normally performed manually and produces a bone string to which, particularly in the groove region between the vertebrae and both sides of the rib stumps valuable remaining meat is still attached, but cannot be accessed for reasons of cost.
3. Objects of the Invention
It is thus an object of the invention to provide a method with which such remaining meat can be gained mechanically.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an apparatus capable of carrying out this method.
Another object of the invention is to provide a method and apparatus for mechanically gaining such remaining meat with the resulting meat containing a minimum of bone splinters.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus for mechanically gaining such remaining meat whereby the resulting meat is of high quality and at least of the standard and quality of known "soft-separator quality".